1. Field of the Invention
The invention concerns an apparatus for removing the skin from the bodies or body parts of slaughtered poultry, having a rotationally driven skin entraining roller with a non-skid or gripping outer surface, a plane knife which lies with its cutting edge opposed to the roller outer surface and spaced from the same by a gap, a pressing shoe arranged downstream of the cutting edge in the :rotation direction of the skin entraining roller and having a pressing surface facing the roller outer surface and forming a gap therewith, and an auxiliary conveyor arranged in the region above the knife and resiliently displaceable away from said knife under spring force or gravity.
2. Prior Art
A changing attitude to taste and health have lead to more and more poultry, particularly chicken, being consumed, of which products without skin are particularly in demand. On the other hand, the interest in utilizing the skin as a highly valuable source of protein for human consumption is also growing, whereby the possibilities for utilization are most comprehensive when the skin can be gained from the individual body parts, e.g. the extremities, while retaining its natural structure.
Apparatus having the structural features mentioned above are widely spread and are used in practice for skinning fish and for removing rind from pork. However, in the known embodiment, these machines are not suitable for removing skin from poultry, or rather the result with respect to both the quality of the skinned meat portion as well as the obtained skin is not satisfactory.